Getting Published In The Huffington Post

Last week I wrote an article that was featured in The Huffington Post. Since then I have received a lot of questions as to how I managed to get published, so I wanted to take some time to go over the process that I went through. Keep in mind that this was my experience and it is by no means the only approach to getting published in The Huffington Post!

I had submitted an article previously to The Huffington Post around the time that the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was airing. I had written a post last year about why I no longer watch it and I thought that it would fit nicely. I headed to their Contact page where there is a link to submit pitches, filled out the form, and didn’t hear anything back. Granted, I submitted the pitch the day of the fashion show, but ultimately I put my aspiration to be in The Huffington Post on the back burner for a little while.

I actually ended up submitting this most recent pitch while procrastinating. I didn’t want to study for my NASM exam, so I decided to rework the speech that I give at drug abuse forums and submit it. I did some internet research about how other people have been published and decided to go on an emailing rampage.

One of the most important things to remember is that Huffington Post editors receive thousands of pitches a day. In order to stand out, you need to develop a pitch that will catch their eye without requiring them to wade through loads of text. In my opinion there are 3 things that you should include when submitting to a Huffington Post Editor:

Email Pitch

Article

Bio and Headshot

Email Pitch

One of the most valuable pages on The Huffington Post site is the list of editorial staff. You can find this list here.

When pitching your article, figure out which section(s) would be most appropriate for your topic and email that editor (or editors). I felt like my article could be categorized under a couple different sections, so I emailed a couple of different editors. The structure for HP emails is generally firstname.lastname@huffingtonpost.com. Here is my actual email that I sent out:

Editor’s Name,

Hi! I wanted to share my story with you in hopes that you would consider it for The Huffington Post.

I was an honor roll student who lost everything to my addiction and have managed to build up my life again piece by piece through recovery. My story is compelling because I do not fit the “stereotypical” addict mold and I strive to inform others that addiction can affect anyone, anywhere.

I am attaching my story, picture, and bio. Please let me know if this is something that you are looking for. Thank you for your time and have a great night!

I kept the body of my email relatively short and concise, then sent it out along with a copy of the article and my bio and headshot.

Article

I think it is best to have your article written already rather than simply pitching them an idea. I wrote my story the way I would want it to be posted and then attached it with my pitch. Unless your pitch is extremely compelling, an editor may not have the time to go back and forth with you about a subject. You have a limited amount of time to get through and grab the attention of someone at The Huffington Post, so it is best to hand it to them on a silver platter.

Bio and Headshot

Again, the less you provide to an editor, the more he or she will have to come back to you. This lessens the chance that something you want published will actually get published. By providing an editor with everything he or she needs to simply approve your article, you are greatly increasing your chances of hearing something back. I attached a short bio about myself and the headshot that I use on this site.

Final Thoughts

The person that I actually heard back from was Arianna Huffington herself. After I emailed all of the appropriate editors, I took a long shot and emailed it to her as well. I figured the worst that could happen is that I didn’t hear back. (Note: Arianna’s email is slightly different: arianna@huffingtonpost.com). I emailed her at 5:22 pm on a Monday and had a reply by 9:12 am the next day. She said that she was forwarding my information to one of her editors and I would receive more information shortly.

Soon after that I received an invitation to The Huffington Post and was supplied blogging credentials. I am excited to continue contributing and see what other opportunities open up as a result!

This is my experience and advice, but please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions on the subject. As always, thanks for reading!!

Update: I had my second post go live after publishing this, so if you are interested check it out here!

Hi Erin, thanks for the article. I have an article I’d like to share with Huffington Post readers but don’t yet have my blog up and running. All I have are my social media accounts: Twitter and Instagram. Would you advise submit anyway or wait? Cheers, Anita

I don’t know why, but pitching to Huffington Post never even occurred to me… It’s something I’d love to do, though, so thanks for these tips, girl! And congrats on your second article getting published!Amanda @ .running with spoons. recently posted…. thinking out loud #116 .

That is very cool! Thanks for sharing this piece – it’s awesome to know how to get in when you have a piece “share worthy” 🙂 You’re right that it’s definitely better if you provide the editor with everything they need all at once. How awesome that Arianna herself responded to you! 🙂 Have a great one Erin! -IvaAwesomelyOZ recently posted…Writer’s Block: When the Language Center Goes Mute

I’m a little late with this, but SO COOL!! Thanks for writing about how you did it – I would really have no idea how to get started with something like this. I’ve never done any freelance work before, so honestly it’s a whole new world to me! I love that you’re putting yourself out there!!Stephanie @ My Freckled Life recently posted…The Pregnant Lady in Heels

hey I love your page, I have found so much usefull information and think your story is truly inspiring congratulations. I have a small question, whe you submit entries do write new pieces or do you think it is okay to take something that is already on your blog and submit it?

I love the tip to personally address the editor. That is great advice and adds a personal touch. What you chose to write has so much to do with whether it will get accepted. I always say that people want to hear your story. Your personal story is valuable. Definitely worth sharing with the world. Keep up the great posts and live unstoppable!Rhonda Swan recently posted…Crystal Paine- The Money Saving Mom

Erin, thank you so much for sharing your process. I followed it (to a t) and my article was just published by HuffPost. Also, I’ve checked our your articles and they are wonderful, especially your Breaking the Stigma piece. It is very powerful. Keep shining your light!

I heard back from Arianna who accepted my post and was cc’ing it to one of her editors. I was just wondering how long did it take for you to hear back from the second person? Super excited and anxious over here haha! 🙂Amber recently posted…Remembering Professor Snape

Hi Erin, I found this article on Pinterest and it’s been EXTREMELY helpful, mostly because I can’t seem to find those darn email addresses of the editors! It’s a lifelong dream of mine to get published. I’ve emailed Arianna herself with no luck but I’m not giving up. Thank you for inspiring me…Chelsea recently posted…A Letter to My 18-Year Old Self

Hi there, congrats to you! Same thing happened to me. I pitched directly to Arianna last week in email, heard back from her Saturday that she wants to feature me, including the editor in her e-mail to send me a password. So, that was Saturday, now it’s Wednesday, and I’m pretty anxious. I’m beginning to think it was all a dream and they changed their minds! Any advice? I don’t want to be overly desperate!

Hey Michelle! Congrats! I would give it a little longer and if you haven’t heard anything by day Friday, send a follow up email. You don’t have to be too demanding, just inquire when you should expect to hear somethings and that you’re just following up. Let me know what happens!

This is actually what happened to me. Arianna replied but no editorcontacted me. I followed it up after 2 months and from there the rest is history. I wrote about it here http://www.thestagemommydiaries.com

The same thing happened to me. I submitted a post to Arianna. She got back to me on a Saturday saying the editor would email me a password. It’s Thursday and I’ve followed up with the editor but haven’t heard back yet. I’m getting a little anxious.Carolina recently posted…My visit to the White House in regards to our nation’s kids’ health

Oh my goodness!! I typed out the message below and was just about to hit the post comment when right at this moment, I received the invitation from the editor! It’s 8.00 am Satruday here in Oz so must be about 5pm Friday there. I will leave the message below as it may be encouraging and helpful to other readers here. Good luck guys. I will be interested to read how you go in follow up posts as I’m sure others readers will be. 🙂

Here’s what I just finished typing…

Yes exactly the same with me too. I politely followed up with the editor after four days from receiving Arianna’s email and haven’t heard back. Granted it is only the next morning (Australia time) but I was hoping to flag the editor during Friday business hours. The work week is just finishing in that part of the world so I don’t know if anything much happens over the weekend. I appreciate the editors are likely very busy so we’ll just have to wait and see. 🙂

Curious as to how long it takes once you are invited to join the community. I was invited to create a profile after they read my article. It has now taken 4 days to hear back or see my post published. Is this typical? It says 24 hours but may take longer. I thought this stage was the “for sure” stage but I’m growing concerned.

Hey Kim! If it was over the weekend I would give them a little slack on that but if it hasn’t been published by tomorrow I would definitely follow up with them. I think the longest mine has taken is only a couple days and that doesn’t even happen frequently. I’ve heard from a number of people that their work must have slipped through the cracks and it took following up for things to keep moving. Let me know how it works out!!

Hi Erin & Kim, yes I’m concerned too. I’ve submitted my article on 25th through the backstage and have yet to see it published. Just wondering, does Huffpost usually publish all articles that we submit? Or is there a rejection criteria that we don’t know?

Kim have they published your article yet? Erin, if we were to follow up, who should we email to? Is it the blogteam@huffingtonpost.com? Thanks so much Erin, your article helped a lot 🙂

Hey Joanna! I’ve never had them reject an article but I did have them email me to correct some links I had in one. So I think if there was an issue with it they would email you. I would follow up and email that address. I had to do that with one of mine once and they got back to me.

I’m glad this helped you out and I hope they get your article up soon!!

Hi ladies. Just wanted to tell you that I just started blogging last week at Huffington and they published all 4 of mine except for 1 which I never heard about so I’m assuming they didn’t want it for whatever reason. The longest it took for them to publish 1 of mine at this new stage was 2 days. Honestly I have never gotten a response from the blog team on the couple of issues I asked them about. Hope any of that helps a little and good luck to everyone! 🙂Michelle Zunter recently posted…The “Beauty Face” Paradox

Hi Erin & Michelle, thanks for your reply. I emailed the blogteam and didn’t get any response too. Sigh I guess this article of mine might slipped through the cracks or was rejected w/o me knowing. Kinda demoralizing if all that I’ve written will not be published. Maybe I’ll try writing another one first…

Congrats Kim 🙂 i guess i will have to move on to another piece. Just wondering ladies, where do you all usually get your pictures? Getty, Flickr, Unsplash? If it’s Getty, do you do your own edit so that it appears like the published version or leave it to the editors to edit? There’s usually a watermark sign for Getty. Even embedding it directly doesn’t look like the rest of the pics published. Sorry I’m new at this.

kim

March 9, 2016 / 12:49 pm

Joanna,
In my case they just picked a photo on their own. I didn’t submit with a photo. Keep trying. I don’t have a blog and I’m not a writer. There was a topic I felt passionately about and sent it to an industry magazine as an op-ed and never heard back. Because I really wanted my voice heard I researched and found Erin’s post and took it from there. I don’t imagine I’ll be writing anything for them again but i really respect those of you who can do this consistently.

Hi there. I was finally contacted by the editor the Friday following the Saturday that Arianna contacted me back. I did follow up with an email a couple of days prior. Hope that helps and just remember to be persistent because it does work.

Just a quick chronology of events for anyone who reads this post and if you’re interested in being published on HP. I emailed Arianna Huffington with my pitch of the above linked post on Monday 28 March. I received a reply from Arianna (or someone on her behalf) the following day on 29 March, inviting me to blog on HP and was advised that a blog editor would shortly be in contact with me to send me my password. I didn’t hear anything for a couple of days so I politely followed up with the blog editor on Friday 1 April. The blog editor replied the next day on 2 April advising I would be sent my username and password shortly thereafter. I received my account details from the blog team on Monday 4 April.

I accessed my account and submitted my blog post on Tuesday 5 April. I didn’t hear anything for three days so I kindly sent a follow up query on Friday 8 April. Again I didn’t hear anything back for a few days before finally on Wednesday13 April I received an email from the HP blog team advising my post was published!

So all up, it took two weeks and two days from my initial email pitch to Arianna to get my first post published. And what feels like a personal reward, my post featured right on top of the featured blog posts page and front page of the Australian HP site! 🙂 I decided to save some images of these pages as this would be very short lived.

Thanks to generous people like Erin who take the time to explain to how to get published on HP. This information is certainly very helpful. 🙂

Thank you so much for this info! I got an email from Arianna three days ago and it’s taught me a lot about myself – I have NO patience! I have basically been refreshing my email every five minutes, agonizing about why the blog editor she copied hasn’t gotten back to me. Thanks to your tips, I think I’ll follow up tomorrow. Thanks again! Your blog is fantastic!

Hi Erin! I just wanted to drop a quick note to say that, I too recently pitched an article to the Huffington Post, and, following your advice, emailed various editors and Arianna Huffington herself personally. In a surprising parallel to your experience, I, too, heard back from Arianna herself – just about an hour ago – saying she was forwarding my article to the blogs editor. I am so excited and, well, a little in shock! Thank you so much for the wonderful advice and your amazing blog! You’ve earned a loyal reader here! …I will, of course, leave a link to the article here in your comments when it’s published.E.J. Haley recently posted…There’s the windup … and here’s the pitch!

Thank you for the wonderful compliment! To answer your question, it’s my understanding that they (HuffPost) recently changed their contributors platform. I believe the article went live right away. However, I would imagine their editors still comb through contributors’ material to decide what to feature. I am not aware at this point if my article has been featured yet. But, here’s hoping!E.J. Haley recently posted…Huffington Post debut: “The fight for our national character”

A big congrats on all your blogging success. Thanks also for this guideline. I have read many blogs seeking information regarding Huff Post, and yours offered the most practical method. It has been very helpful and has landed me an offer to be a Huff Post Contributor.

However, unless I missed the obvious, all internet info regarding blogging on Huff Post does not make very clear, or is misleading as to what happens after a blog is “published.” I assumed it became public and accessible to Huff Post readers.

1. There appears to be no menu on their website leading to a contributors’ blogs section. I found this link only after a google search: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-blog/. But, after “publishing” my first article, i noticed it did not appear.

2. I am now assuming that blogs are not available to Huff Post readers, nor will they appear on the blog list for the day, unless one of their editors picks it up and “promotes” it. In other words, blogs do not get the large exposure expected, that is proclaimed or hoped for. If I need to promote my blog article and tell audiences they can read it on the Huff Post platform, but only by giving them a direct link to the article, of what value is that? I can direct readers to go directly to my website. What am I missing?

3. Do I have to pitch the appropriate category editor after “publishing,” and hope to be published?

Any advice to clarify my confusion or misunderstanding would be greatly appreciated. Also, I read your personal story with great interest. I am in the process of writing my first book regarding the origin and cause of human behavior, and would be very interested and hope to have an opportunity to communicate with you in the very near future, regarding your journey and insights gained.

Once you are published yes you do have to pitch, or rather submit, any future articles for approval. But I guess once you have been published your subsequent articles will be more likely accepted anyway (though I had one rejected but I was pushing limits with some things with that). I don’t know whether personal blog accounts are linked or appear anywhere on the site but the published article should appear on the blog page and even the front page until it moves on down the page and archive pages.

I’m working on a new post actually about this, but HP has created a new blogging platform called Athena that allows bloggers to publish directly without the intervention of an editor to proofread and publish the piece. This means that many more authors will be able to get their material up. You’re still published on HP, but it may be harder to find the post without the direct link.

You are correct about it not appearing on the list for that day unless chosen by the editors, and this is true for both the original platform and the new contributor one. I wrote a post about what to expect after being published because while my first post was promoted extensively, every post after that was lost in the site and not picked up and shared by HP. I had to do the work asking people to share it and promoting it myself, but I still never received the same kind of numbers as I did with my very first one.

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me at erinsinsidejob@gmail.com. Thanks for reading!!

Thanks for getting back with me.
As I mentioned to Steve…I think i now have a handle on things…having an opportunity to be a contributor increases the possibility of being picked up by an editor. I have read that many contributors leave a link to their own Blog Site (outside of Huffington) without having a negative affect on being picked up and promoted. Might you have a comment about that?

Yeah, at the bottom of my posts I will usually write something like “This post originally appeared here on Erin’s Inside Job” if I’m reposting content. Then I’ll link both the specific post and my site in general. So far it hasn’t been an issue.

Thank you so much for writing this post! I did the same thing like you said, and I received an email from Arianna herself. She cc’ed another person and they got back to me this morning, and sent me an invitation to become a contributor. Yay!

Thanks so much for your advice and for your excellent writing! Quick question: Did you submit your article specifically to be used as a blog post? And if so did you keep it under 1,000 words? I have an article on wolves that is hard to keep at that length so I wonder if there are options for possible publication on HP that allow longer stories.

Your post got me all fired up! I emailed Arianna with a personal essay that I think would fit in with HuffPo, but even if it doesn’t, I feel good about trying. Thank you for writing this!Becky B recently posted…R.I.P., Mary Tyler Moore

Hi Erinn, Thanks for giving such a lovely information. We want to write on Huff post ,But these days registration at Huff post have been closed. Arianna herself have moved to new venture from Huf Post. What should we do in such case. Pls let me know.